Therapy For Beautiful Minds
by ForTheLoveOfMyEdward
Summary: A story of unconditional love in the face of a crushing reality. Edward teaches another about life through his discovery of true devotion and desire. Bella learns that every life is precious and has her eyes opened by a man and his son.
1. Waking Up To A New Life

_A/N: Please enjoy my new Twilight/RL inspired story. I'm so excited to finally get this story out on paper, as it has been begging me to get written!_

_Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended. I do not own these wonderful characters, to which belong to the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, I only write them into different situations that could occur, if they were all human and in an alternate universe! LOL. _

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_Waking Up To A New Life

I woke up this morning feeling so comfortable in my bed. The thin down comforter enveloped me in toasty warmth and cushiness, while my ceiling fan provided a gentle, cool breeze. It was perfect. The only problem? I slept about 3 hours.

Today was my first day at work ever, in a new city, as a new grad. Needless to say I was scared sick. I moved to Colorado from Florida only 2 days ago, with a 3-day drive. My apartment was about 1/10th unpacked, and I still hadn't really gone grocery shopping.

I was startled by my alarm going off, for the 47th time this morning. I had set it to go off early this morning, in hopes of getting a good start to my new life. Obviously, that plan had miserably failed. I stretched out my legs then rolled over on to my stomach with a groan. I lifted my head just enough to see the clock, 7:07 am.

"Ughhh". I had to be at work by 8:30. At least it was only a 20-minute drive, so at least Google Maps said. I had planned on making a test trip yesterday at some point, but I was so busy trying to set up my apartment with the necessary amenities such as cable and internet, that I forgot all about it until it was time for dinner. I had decided that I would just leave a little early this morning to give myself extra time in favor of getting something to eat.

I had gone to bed last night at 9:00, feeling a little sleepy and a lot anxious. I tossed and turned for at least 3 hours before finally starting to doze off. I was awoken at 1 am by my cat, Rosey, who apparently was just as anxious as I was about the new life we'd started. I let her snuggle up with me and pet her some before trying to go back to sleep. The problem with petting cats? They purr.

Rosey's 500 horsepower purr kept me awake until at least 1:45, I couldn't be sure. The next time I woke up was around 4:30, sweating and with a wet face. Apparently my uneasy thoughts before bed were manifesting themselves into my dreams. I got up to use the bathroom, then collapsed back down on my bed, praying for a solid two more hours of sleep.

My prayers were in vain, as I lay awake for exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes of those two hours. It seemed as though the moment my eyes closed, was the moment my alarm choose to go off at 6:00 am. Apparently, I hit the snooze button for about another hour.

I closed my eyes, and said a small prayer that this new job, new city, new state, new life, would be exactly what I needed for my fresh start. I thanked Gad for giving me this opportunity, even though deep down I was devastated about how I gained it.

I rolled back over to my back, stretched a full body stretch, and then pulled myself out of bed. Grudgingly, I dragged myself into the bathroom to turn on the hot water for a much needed shower. I was so refreshed afterwards, and actually had a smile on my face. Maximize your mind, I told myself. "This is it. This is exactly what you wanted and dreamed about for years, since you were a little girl. So man up!" Well, more or less anyway.

I went through my morning routine as usual, just with a slightly quicker pace. Brushed my teeth, flossed, washed my face, put on my typical minimal make-up, and got dressed in my new business-casual skirt suit. It was dressier than what I will typically wear since I'll be working with preschoolers, but a girl's got to make a good first impression! I had lost a little weight since I bought it a few weeks before the move, but it still looked striking. It was salmon colored with black pin stripes on the skirt and jacket. The skirt hugged my hips perfectly, and then flared out just below the knees with a ruffled trim. The jacket was simple, but the top I had on under was the crowning jewel to complete the look. It was a completely accidental find, at Wal-Mart of all places. It was a thin, form fitting black scoop neck blouse that had a dainty ruffle around the neckline. The way it blended with the suit, I could not have planned better myself. I finished the outfit off by adding a pair of 3-inch sling-back, open-toe heels.

I took a peek in the full-length mirror, which I also grabbed at Wal-Mart. "Well, if this doesn't make a good impression, I don't know what will!" With my self-affirmation, I went out to the dining room, fed Rosey, and went into the kitchen. It was now five till 8, so I knew I didn't have time for much. I poured myself a glass of coconut milk and regular milk into my Blender ball smoothie shaker, and then added some chocolate protein powder. In normal circumstances, I would have put in some berries, but my trip to the store had never happened.

I took one more glance at myself in the hallway mirror, take make sure I look decent, took a deep breath, then opened the door to my new beginning.

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_A/N: I had a lot more to add to this first chapter, but the last sentence rang to me as the best ending point. I'll have the 2nd chapter up in the next couple days._

_If any of you know me from my Mortal Instruments series story, Forever Is Not Long Enough, I have not abandoned that story. This one has just been something that has been nagging at me to get out and share._

_Hope you enjoyed Bella's stressful morning. This will have a somewhat slow start, but it will be sweet, loving, and pull at your heartstrings. It is definitely a HEA, so bear with me as we take a while to get there! As always, leave me some love (or hate if you so desire!)!_


	2. First Day

_A/N: Well, here's my second chapter to this new adventure I'm embarking on. I didn't get very much attention for the first chapter, but I'm not going to let it discourage me! I know there are only a couple other thousand Twilight stories out there! haha _

_Disclaimer: I could never pretend to own these characters, they belong heart and soul to Stephanie Meyer, author of the Twilight series. No copyright infringement intended!_

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First Day At A New Life

I got into my car, a 3-month old black Ford Edge. My biggest splurge in the last few months, but I'm glad I did it. If I hadn't bought this car, I would have had quite a bit of trouble moving from Florida in my little 2000 Mazda Protégé. Not to mention this car was so much fun.

I wound my way down out of my apartment complex, The Bentley. Appropriately named considering it was going to cost me nearly $1200 a month. It's the nicest place I've lived in the last 8 years since I started college. The last place in Orlando was one of the cheapest places I could find near the University, and the cost of it was unfortunately reflected in the neighborhood. Heck, one of my kitchen drawers had a hole punched in it, which somehow matched a similar hole in the door of my bedroom. It may have had its flaws, but it was home. Now I live in The Bentley, with roman oval soaking tubs and a fireplace. Things have definitely changed in the last few months.

I made the turn on to Wadsworth Boulevard, and began the 7 or so mile trip to my new job. I had been to the Denver area before, mostly up to the mountains with my Mom on ski trips, but never really been in the metro area. I had no idea what it would be like, or what the breathtaking views of the mountains I would be provided on my drive. Off to the West was what they called the Front Range. Most of the area in Denver is relatively flat, with lots of hills of course, but then it's like the mountains just come out of nowhere.

I had to make sure I was paying attention to where I was going, so that I didn't miss my turn or get into an accident because of being distracted by the mountains. The traffic wasn't too bad, nothing compared to what I'd endured in Orlando. My GPS alerted me to my upcoming turn onto Alameda Avenue. "Almost there", I sighed.

Only about another mile and a half and I'd be at the building. I was employed by a company called Vine Child Development, which I guess contracted a team of special needs staff to work at a Head Start location called Rocky Mountain. If I remembered correctly, there were 25 centers, or classrooms, that had special needs kids that I would have to be in charge of in some fashion.

I made the turn onto Sheridan Boulevard, and began keeping my eyes out for the building. They told me to just look for the buses parked outside. How hard could that be? My GPS, which I affectionately named "Navi", tended to dump me off at my "location" when I was in the immediate vicinity of the destination. Which isn't very helpful in most cases.

"Well there's the buses" I whispered, and turned into the parking lot. I parked my car, and immediately began freaking out. I looked in the mirror, fixed my smudged eyeliner, and said a quick prayer for the 5th time this morning. I looked around and noticed there weren't many cars around, and reminded myself that they were technically still on summer break.

"Here we go!" I said with mock excitement. I was so afraid I wouldn't be good enough for this job. I knew I was being somewhat unrealistic since they knew I was a new grad and wouldn't be perfect from the get go. They did pick me after all. However it's still enough to get me worrying.

I entered the building, and was surprised to not immediately be in the lobby. An elevator was in front on me, and by the looks of the sign, you needed a code to go anywhere in it. So the stairs it was. Only a couple of stairs up, and another door to go through to the main lobby. "How weird" I mused.

I walked up to the glass and waited for the secretary to get off the phone. She finished the conversation and turned to me, with a not so friendly gaze in my direction. "Can I help you?" she blurted.

I put on the politest smile I could muster and squeaked out, "Hi, I'm Bella Swan. I'm the new Speech Pathologist, and I'm here to meet Angela Weber".

"Okay, let me call her". She picked up her phone, which seemed to have a massive switchboard on it and pushed an extension. "Hi, yes, Bella Swan is here to meet you? Okay, I'll tell her. Bye". She turned to me and said, "Someone will be right down", and turned in her chair to go right back to her computer.

_Wow, someone must be having a bad day, or I have a lot of work ahead of me to get on, lets see, Jennie's good side._ After some less than pleasant thoughts passed, the ding of the elevator door opening behind me gave me a startle. _ I wish I wasn't so dang jumpy_.

"Bella?" a voice questioned. I turned around to see a middle aged woman smiling at me. I reached out my hand to great her, "Yes, I'm Bella. So nice to finally meet you Angela!"

"Oh honey, I'm not Angela. My name is Lauren Mallory, I work under Angela. She's not in yet, and should be here in a little while". I could have slapped myself for not noticing the difference in the voice. Angela's voice was much smaller and higher pitched; this voice was much more harsh and loud. _Leave it to a Speech Path to be analyzing voices!_

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Well it is nice to meet you Lauren. I'm so happy to finally be here!" I exclaimed with genuine feeling.

"Come come, let me show you to our offices. Thank you Jennie" she tacked on at the end to the secretary, which barely acknowledged she was spoken to. Lauren got into the elevator and punched in a code. "The code is 1503 to get the top floor where our area is located".

"Okay, I hope I'll remember that!" _I wish I had a pen on me!_

"No worries dear, I'm sure this will all be hard to remember. I'm sure you'll get it after a while" she said as we were exiting the elevator. "Right this way. Let me show you are big office, and then I'll show you to your desk".

"Sounds great. Thanks Lauren."

We turned the corner into a decent sized room. There were quite a few desks set up in the space, but it looked cozy and workable. There were two other women in the room.

"Linda, Trini, This is Bella, the new Speech Therapist".

"Hi Bella. I'm Trini. Nice to meet you" she said evenly as she shook my hand firmly. She was a bit shorter than me, and looked a lot like Rizzo from Grease.

"Oh hi Bella, so wonderful to meet you!" Linda exclaimed as she stood up to shake my hand, a nice gentle shake. She was about the same height, but was a bit on the heavy side. I decided it seemed to suit her personality.

"Great to meet you as well. Like I told Lauren, I'm so excited to finally be here".

"You came from Florida right?" Linda questioned.

"Yes, from the Orlando area. Just got in about 3 days ago now".

"Wow, you didn't even have any time to settle in before starting. That would make me so anxious not having my home ready and get my bearings", Trini added.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired, but I did get some things unpacked. It is nice to have a change of pace though, a welcome distraction" I smiled at that because it was true.

Lauren choose to jump in and said, "We'll I'm going to show Bella the other office and her desk. We'll be back ladies".

"Okay, so good to finally have you here Bella. Talk with you soon!" Linda added as we turned to make our way out of the office.

"Sounds great, Linda. Thanks".

Lauren walked a short way down the hall, past the elevator, and turned into another office. This one was much smaller than the first, only one window. It also had a lot more toys and games, a library of materials I supposed.

"We call this office the quiet office because, well, it's typically much quieter," she laughed. "The other we refer to as the noisy office since there's a lot more people in there, with lots of things going on". She walked further into the room and stopped to say, "This will be your desk Bella, and this one right here is my desk!" she mentioned excitedly. "I hope yours will be satisfactory. I cleaned it myself yesterday!"

"Oh wow, thank you! Yes, I think it will be just fine for me" I stated, looking it over. It wasn't much to look at really. It was more or less a cubicle, without the "cube". The desk had some drawers and a computer with a monitor sitting on top, taking up half the room. The walls would be perfect for hanging things up.

"Let me show you a few things. Esme, the therapist before you, left you a few things she though you might find useful. She wrote you a nice letter to explain everything," she mentioned as she handed me the folder.

"Wow, that was so sweet of her to take time to do that".

"Yes, Esme was a real sweet lady, very smart and caring". That made me wonder why she had left, but I figured I would find out eventually. It also made me think I probably had some pretty big shoes to fill.

"Here are some of our speech materials. I'm afraid I don't know much about them, but I know Esme used them often. I think there's some testing supplies and other therapy things".

"Perfect, I can't wait to go through it all and see what's here. Thanks for showing me" I said gratefully.

"Of course dear. I have to run to a meeting here at 9, so I'll leave you to get settled in a bit. I'll leave Angela a voicemail letting her know you're here so she can come up and officially meet you when she gets in".

"Okay, sounds like plan. Thanks for showing me around Lauren".

"Of course, so glad to finally have you here Bella". She then turned and walked over to her desk to make the call. When she finished, Lauren came back to me and said, "I guess she's still not here, but I left a voicemail to let her know. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to Linda and Trini. They've both been here for years and could probably answer any question you have," she said as she patted me on the shoulder, and left the room.

_Well she seems pretty nice, a little too nice maybe_. I turned back to my desk and pulled out the chair. I ran my fingers over the keyboard, my keyboard. I opened the top drawer, and found there were a couple pens and other office type things in it. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. I closed my eyes and whispered, "Welcome to your new life Bella".

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_A/N: Well our Bella seems to be very stressed out. I think she'll be ok though! :oD As I mentioned last chapter, it's going to take a while to get going, but this part is really important! I promise, Edward will come along at just the right time!_

_Leave me some love and let me know what you think. Anything is greatly appreciated!_


	3. Getting Settled

**_A/N: I'm sorry I've taken a while to update, without making excuses that aren't fair to you guys, I just have had a lot going on. This story is something very special to me, so at times I may take a while to update to make sure that when I do, it is perfect. I'll reveal more as time goes on as to why it means so much to me, just not yet! :o) _**

**_I also decided that I would begin a glossary since most of you probably aren't Speech-Language Pathologists. I'll put it at the bottom of the page. If I miss anything, and you're interested in what it is (or want more info on anything for that matter) send me a message on here or Twitter (InLoveWithALion). I probably won't cover every thing, because there will be a lot to cover! _**

**_Disclaimer: I couldn't pretend to own these characters that SMeyer has created, I'm just borrowing them to tell a story! _**

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_When we last left our frazzled Bella:_

_I turned back to my desk and pulled out the chair. I ran my fingers over the keyboard, my keyboard. I opened the top drawer, and found there were a couple pens and other office type things in it. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. I closed my eyes and whispered, "Welcome to your new life Bella"._

Getting Settled

I let a smile creep across my face as I glanced at my surroundings, the sense of accomplishment beginning to rule my feelings. The other desks that were in the "quiet office" were all very noticeably personalized by their inhabitants. _Well at least that means we get to express ourselves a bit_. That thought made me think that I should probably stop by an office supply store in the next couple days to pick up a few things for my new desk.

I turned the computer on, and waited for it boot up. I glanced down at the packet that Esme had put together for me and opened it up. The first sheet was a hand written note, in a beautiful cursive script. It read:

"_Bella,_

_I am so glad that you decided to join the team. My only regret is not being able to be there to meet you myself, and to transition you into your new job. I know that you are a recent graduate, and also new to the city. Please know that while this position is challenging, you are working with a wonderful and supportive team. All the ladies you will be working with are very unique and have a sincere passion for what they do for children and their families. _

_From what I remember from your interview, you seem to be a very sweet, down-to-earth kind of lady. This will help you be successful in your endeavors. Always remember to be true to yourself and never afraid to express your feelings. This job can be very demanding at times, so be sure to take care of yourself. I highly recommend Zenails in Belmar for a fabulous mani and pedi!_

_I included in this packet some information about the job, and other materials you may find useful. We have a small, yet sufficient, testing supply selection. I typically use the TELD, but we do have the CELF-P and the PLS-4 for language assessment. I think however that testing is moving more towards play-based assessment, which is too bad that you weren't here last week for the training. We do have a lot of materials for speech and language activities, so I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the materials shelves so you can give ideas to the BCDC's on things to use with the children for specific goals. _

_I do not know who you will have for your clinical fellowship, but I am sure they will have it figured out before school starts. You have been chosen for this position for a reason, and I know you will do great. Please email me if you have any questions at all, and I will look forward to seeing you in the future! _

_Sincerely,_

_Esme Maloney"_

I sat back in my chair, thinking that this Esme seemed like one heck of a lady and that I had some huge shoes to fill.

Turning to the computer, it was evident she was also very organized, something that hasn't always been my strong point, but something I had been getting better at. Opening the folders, I was feeling grateful that she had left these documents behind for me as they provided much insight on what the job would be like.

Glancing at the clock, I realized that I still had a lot of time before I needed to be leaving for the in-service meeting. Looking around, I spotted the testing materials on a bookcase along the wall. _Might as well get a look at what I have available to me_.

I spent about thirty minutes looking over the testing supplies, as well as some of the other speech materials that were on the shelf. There were a few things about working with lower socioeconomic status families, a CEU course on phonology development, and some Boardmaker picture key chains in Spanish.

As I was looking through the _Speech Pathology Assessment Guidelines_ book, there was a knock on the door.

"Bella?" a tiny voice inquired.

"Yes? I'm Bella", I replied, standing up and straightening my clothes.

"Hi Bella! I'm Angela! So wonderful to meet you finally!"

"Oh hi Angela, wonderful to meet you as well. It seems like it was just the other day that I spoke to you for the first time, and here I am now!"

"I know, I'm so pleased that you decided to join us and made it to Colorado safe and sound!"

We continued chatting for a while about my move and what things have been going on for both of us. Angela was a very pleasant woman, very petite in size, which completely explained the high-pitched voice. She was pretty, but dressed simply. She seemed like someone I could get along with easily, and I was happy for that since she would be my supervisor.

Angela showed me some more things around my office, and then took me back over the 'noisy office' where she pointed out where to find children's files as well as other documents I may need to use.

"Well I should probably get some things together before we have to go for in-service. If you have any questions, feel free to come downstairs or call me at extension two-ten. Will you be okay for a while?"

"Yeah, I think I'll review some files and get familiar with the layout of the IEP, unless there's something else you need me to do Angela?" I asked.

"Oh no, that would be a great idea since that will be something you'll be dealing with every day. Let me know if you have any questions then and I'll see you soon!" she said as she turned to leave the office.

"Hey Bella, I don't know if you already had some plans or not, but I was wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch?" Linda questioned as she came around her desk to stand next to me.

"That would be fabulous actually, I hadn't thought to much about it this morning to be honest. Thanks for inviting me! What time do you all go to lunch?"

"We can go around eleven if that's okay with you since the in-service starts at 12:30 downtown. That way you have a little time to review some files and then plenty of time to digest!" she giggled at herself. _I think I really like Linda, she certainly has a sense of humor_.

"Sounds perfect Linda, thanks again!" I walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a few files to look at. They seemed pretty straightforward, but the IEP's themselves were a little difficult to figure out. Some of the wording was unfamiliar, legal sounding language, and I just didn't know what some of it meant. _I'm sure it will make sense in time_.

Looking at the clock, I saw that I had five minutes before we were supposed to go to lunch. I excused myself to the restroom and got my things together.

Lunch was nice. We went to a little pizza joint not too far away near that Belmar Esme mentioned in her letter. Virgilio's was apparently rated the best pizza in the city, and it pretty much was the best I'd ever had. The ladies were very entertaining and endearing, insisting on paying for my lunch.

We made it back to the office in plenty of time to get straightened up before we had to leave. I cleared up my desk and shut down the computer. Since I had no idea where I was going, Lauren said that I could ride with her and she would drop me off back at the office.

Lauren drove me to the in-service, which only took about twenty minutes. We walked down the street to the building it was being held at. She turned to me and said "There will be a lot more people here; Vine is a much bigger entity that we are alone. We're early, so there shouldn't be too many for you to have to remember their names!"

"That's fine, I can barely remember my own name some days" I laughed with her.

We made our way into building and walked towards all the voices. As we rounded the corner, I took a deep breath and put a smile on my face, ready to greet my other new co-workers.

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_**A/N: I hope you liked it, let me know if you did or didn't! One or two more chapters before things really start to pick up for our Bella. I'm so excited about this story by the way, and I will really do my best to update on a more regular basis! If you do end up following me on twitter, send me a message to let me know who you are! Have a great week!**_

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_Glossary:_

_Play-Based Assessment: A method of testing kids across different areas of development (cognitive, speech/language, fine and gross motor, and social emotional) through only playing with the child._

_BCDC/CDC: Bilingual Child Development Consultant- someone that under the direction of a therapist provides special needs services to children with an IEP_

_IEP: Individualized Education Plan- A legal document that outlines the needs of a child under special education law. It includes reports and goals for areas to be worked on throughout a period of a year. An annual review is to be completed each year to update the progress of the child toward their goals._

_CFY/CF: Clinical Fellowship Year/Clinical Fellow- A period of 9 months (silly I know since it's called a year!) that follows after graduation from a speech pathology program. The person is required to be supervised for a minimal time per each week with a questionnaire about their performance for each segment of the fellowship. This CFY must be completed in order to meet the requirements to receive the CCC._

_CCC: Certificate of Clinical Competence- achieved at the completion of the CFY and ASHA approval. Means the individual has completed every necessary requirement and has sufficient knowledge in order to be a Speech-Language Pathologist without supervision._

_ASHA: The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association- The governing body of Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists. Provides all kinds of resources. _

_Head Start: An agency that provides free preschool to those that meet certain requirements (mostly economic) that typically includes a variety of services._


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